The iambic trimeter derives its name from its essential shape, which is three metrical units (hence trimeter) which are each basically iambic in form. The iambic metron has the following shape (where the x is an anceps, the - is a longum, and the u is a brevis):
Hence, reversing the current running though a wire will have the affect of reversing the direction of the magnetic force at a point some distance away from the wire. The affect that this has on the overall magnetic field depends on the shape of the wire.
Because the magnetic field of the Earth will always influence the compass, the magnetic field direction indicated by the compass when the circuit is closed is the superposition of the field due to the Earth and the field due to the wire.